


A night of murder and cotton candy

by DisappointingJuice



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Murder, Blood and Injury, Circus, Detectives, F/M, Fluff, Gore, I can't tag lmao, Kidnapping, Kokichi Needs a Hug, M/M, Murder, Murder Mystery, Phantom Thief Oma Kokichi, Shuichi is done with everyones crap, but the ending will be wholesome trust me, cannon depictions of violence, i can't spell, kaito is trying his best okay, sorta torture, where the frick is rantaro???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:08:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26997232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisappointingJuice/pseuds/DisappointingJuice
Summary: After getting dragged to the circus by Kaito, Shuichi finds himself entrapped in a game by none other than the phantom thief he has been chasing for months. Yet something dark is lurking beneath the cotton candy and fun, will the participants find out who is trying to enact revenge?
Relationships: Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 66
Kudos: 118





	1. October festivals the introduction

It was mid-October, festivals occurred and the spirits were high. Shuichi Saihara was currently staring out of the library window. The young detective was currently off of work, the town has been quiet for a while. Not that he minded if anything that was preferred, he didn’t really want to be a detective anyways. He much preferred living quietly, hanging out with his friends, reading books, going to school. It still irked him that the criminal he has been chasing for months seems to have vanished without a trace. With a sigh he pushed in his chair only to be meted with a loud “Hey Shuichi bro!” he glanced over to see Kaito waving only to get shushed by a librarian. 

It was somewhat comical; he couldn’t hold in his small laugh. Walking over to his friend Shuichi proceeded to adjust his hat to avoid eye contact. In a slightly quiet tone, Kaito laughed “I knew you’d be here. Maki Roll ended up busy and I have tickets, you’re going with me.” Before he could question anything Kaito was dragging Shuichi by the arm. “w-Woah! Kaito wait, what are you even talking about?” The taller boy didn’t even stop “There is a circus in town and you’re going with me.” Shuichi blinked a few times and shook his head; he never found the circus appealing. It was loud and usually just a waste of money, there was no convincing Kaito though.

They finally got onto the bus and Shuichi could catch his breath and check that he had everything. Phone, wallet, bag, and hat, good if Kaito made him drop anything he’d be beyond pissed. “Why do you even want to go to the circus?” He questioned as the bus began to move. With his usual dopy grin, Kaito replied “Thought it would be fun yah know, I wanted to take everyone, but it didn’t work out.” Shuichi shook his head and pulled out his phone messaging Kaede “Hey sorry, I’ll drop by tomorrow morning Kaito ended up kidnapping me.” After hitting send he slouched in his seat just along for the ride now.

Once inside the park, Shuichi glanced around, carnival games, food, a circus tent, even balloons. This place was the real deal. Kaito was already dragging Shuichi around again looking at everything there was to offer. Although he wouldn’t say it out loud Shuichi was having fun. Eventually, it ended up with Shuichi trying to win a prize for Kaito, almost like they were on a date. After the third try, Shuichi did a quiet cheer and Kaito ended up getting a weird worm thing that was colored like a galaxy. They also got a green, a purple, and a red worm. Kaito took joy in naming them all with the red worm being Maki.

After winning Kaito a small handful of warms a small “Nishishi” could be heard from behind them. A small boy with purple hair and a white hoodie seemingly appeared out of nowhere. “You figured out how to cheat the system?” Shuichi looked at Kaito and then shrugged “I- I guess?” The smaller boy rolled his eyes and gave the man at the counter a dollar “That was a lie” without even looking his popped the balloon with the dark and won the final prize. In shock, the two others just stared as the smaller boy walked off leaving them with more worms. “Did you know him?” Kaito questioned and Shuichi just shook his head. 

After that odd occurrence, they continued to walk around the park, close to sunset the two traded in their tickets to go watch the show. It started off normally. Illusionists, acrobats, everyone did their part until the lights went out. A spotlight came on pointing at a jester with a clown mask in the middle of the ring. His arms spread wide as he spoke “Nishishishi I thank you all for coming to this event, the final act is about to unfold!” his voice was childish and clearly an act. The audience gasped as the jester spun in a circle pointing at an audience member. Everyone held their breath as the light landed on none other than the Ultimate detective.


	2. The first act

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new friend is always a potential enemy, especially when you might have met them one before.

Shuichi felt his gut sink as Kaito congratulated him. Tipping his hat to hide his face he walked over to the small jester. Something felt wrong and there was too much attention drawn to him. Kaito was definitely going to have to make up for this later. The small jester continued to laugh and joke, seemingly explaining something to the audience. Before he could even object Shuichi got shoved in a wardrobe like box. Finally snapping to his senses as he heard the small jester proclaim, “Don’t worry I wouldn’t dream of hurting my dear detective.” Shuichi’s eye’s widened as the box was closed and locked. This had to be a sick joke, the thief has been missing for months almost a full year. As soon as he tried to get a word out a sword shot through the box causing a small squeak in surprise from Shuichi.

The audience held their breath as one sword after another entered the box, each just barely missing the detective inside. Each gasp caused Shuichi to back further against the wall until finally click. The door opened and allowed him to step out to the cheering crowd. The jester ushered him back to his seat and the dazed detective simply complied only wanting to get out of the spotlight. After catching his breath, he got it knocked out of him once again once Kaito slapped his shoulder with his iconic goofy grin. “How lucky was that! You even got to be part of the show!” Only managing a weak smile Shuichi stoop up “I’m going to get a drink, you want anything?” The other shook his head and gave thumbs up.

Finally calming down after getting out of the tent the detective started trying to put the pieces together. He figured he was most likely imagining things out of shock so shaking his head the detective put all the ideas of the thief in the back of his mind. He didn’t want to ruin the night with work again. However, luck was still not on his side because the moment he turned around he tripped over the small purple-haired kid from before.

The world seemed to go in slow motion as Shuichi tumbled landing right on top of the other. His face went bright red in embarrassment as he quickly started pulling out tissues to try and help the boy mumbling “I’m so sorry” over and over again. Once the other regained his composure he grabbed onto the detective’s wrist and gave a smile causing Shuichi to freeze. “Jeez, you’re just rubbing it in at this point.” The smaller boy motioned to the position they were in. Shuichi quickly scurried back and tipped his hat down over his face. The smaller boy offered his hand and once Shuichi got up the other talked. “I’m Kokichi Oma, say you were the poor fool who got dragged onto the stage weren’t you?” Shuichi sighed as the other got up in his face “y-yeah, that’s right.” He shook the hand he was still holding and mumbled “it’s Shuichi Saihara”

Kokichi’s smile grew wider as he put his hands behind his back “Bad idea telling me your name, I can send someone to take kill you now.” Shuichi’s eyes widened as he looked down at Kokichi “excu-“before he could even finish the other erupted into laughter “it’s a lie, I could have done that even without your name.” Shuichi groaned in response and looked away “I’m sorry about earlier” Kokichi rolled his eyes and leaned back towards the detective “I’ll spare your life if you do a small favor for me.” Although Shuichi figured he wouldn’t die but it wouldn’t hurt to apologize through doing this favor, he gave a quick nod and waited for instructions.

Kokichi leaned in closer and whispered, “You’re gonna buy me dinner and then watch the rest of the show with me.” Shuichi blinked a few times waiting for the other to laugh or claim that was also a lie but it didn’t happen. Rubbing his arm Shuichi looked back at Kokichi with a crooked smile “What do you want to eat?”

The smaller boy shrugged, and Shuichi knew exactly what was in store for him. The two ended up walking around the park as Shuichi pointed at booths and Kokichi shrugged going “Weeeell I’m not in the mood for that.” After the fourth time around the park, the two finally sat down at a table as they waited for the cook to finish making Kokichi his dinner. The smaller boy’s grin grew as he tipped Shuichi’s hat up to see his eyes. “What is with this emo hat anyways?”

Shuichi quickly covered his face again and looked away. “I just like it-“the other rolled his eyes and leaned back “Okay okay, touchy subject I get it.” Shuichi smiled a bit and looked back over at Kokichi “no, Kaede gets on my case about it too.” Kokichi did a loud gasp at the mention of Kaede “You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend!” with that a fake sniffle came from Kokichi as he started bawling “Here I thought you were such a nice guy too! Then you go and play with my feelings. How could you” Shuichi’s eyes widened as he frantically waved his arms “no-no! It’s not like that! We are just friends!” Kokichi stopped crying immediately “I was just kidding, good to know you fell for me that fast though.”

Shuichi covered his face in embarrassment as the other started eating his fries. After taking a deep breath Shuichi gave another awkward smile “You were the one who forced me to pay for your food anyways” Kokichi giggled and shrugged “Did I? I believe you’re the one who actually believed me, you’re so gullible.” Shuichi stopped and looked away again, yet he couldn’t erase the smile from his face. Kokichi stood up and grabbed Shuichi’s arm “Hurry! I want to get cotton candy before the show starts too!” He was acting like a bratty child, Shuichi just sighed and brought out his wallet knowing it was going to hurt him later.

After buying Kokichi what he wanted Shuichi sat back down next to Kaito, the smaller boy next to him with a big container of cotton candy. Kaito raised an eyebrow to communicate what on earth happened as Shuichi covered his face more. “I just sold my soul to a boy I ran into…” Without a moment of hesitation Kaito broke out into laughter “Seriously? You never change.” Shuichi wanted to sink into the seat but Kokichi ended up tipping his hat up and shoving some of the fluffy sugar into his mouth. People started looking over at the scene as Kaito wouldn’t stop laughing and Kokichi looked up at Saihara with a shit-eating grin. “Is this better than dying my dear detective?”

Shuichi looked back down at Kokichi through his bangs, “detective? How did you?” Kokichi's response by putting more of the sugary substance into Shuichi’s mouth met with a muffled sound of complaint. “Nishishi for a detective you’re pretty slow. Let’s just watch the show!” Soon the lights shut off and Shuichi sat there with Kokichi attached to his arm silently wishing for this night to end faster, little did he know it was only the beginning. For once the spotlight turned on everyone gasped in shock as the scene unfolded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm incapable of writing over 1,000 words outside of one-shots but every chapter I try to write a bit more


	3. The poor little witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first murder has occurred but who could have done it?

It all seemed to go by in a flash. Without a second thought, Shuichi started going through the protocol. He instructed Kokichi to call the cops and Kaito to help move the audience out of the tent. Everyone who worked at the circus was gathered around the scene. The magician from earlier laid under a hastily set cloth. Clearly dead.

Pulling out his phone Shuichi took pictures of the crime scene as it was before, carefully removing the cloth the see the body. Before he could even properly assess what happened he heard a girl gasp loudly behind him. Turning around, he came face to face with a girl wearing a yellow cardigan. "Himiko! What happened!" Assuming Himiko was the corpse Shuichi walked over to the girl. "Excuse me, could you tell me about this girl?" The girl in the yellow cardigan snapped out of her trance and looked over to the detective. "Her name is Himiko Yumeno-" before she could say any more a taller man walked over to the crime scene. "At a closer glance, this is not a faulty trick." Shuichi quickly walked over to him, feeling a bit intimidated "Excuse me, please don't disturb the crime scene."

The taller man just stood there for a moment and Shuichi was already cringing at how this was going. He tended to let the police deal with the people, but the police won't arrive for a while he had to do this on his own. With a sigh, he was about to go back to investigate when it was now Kokichi who was standing over the body. "Well Mr. Detective, it looks like an accident" Shuichi sighed and scooted Kokichi out of the way "That's not it- I'm positive it wasn't just a failed trick."

Looking down at the body, the first sign was the sheet thrown over her. Nobody else was on stage so nobody should have noticed her corpse at first. "Does anyone know what she was preparing for?" The taller man looked over to the girl in the yellow cardigan who soon spoke out "It was the something water torcher? Basically, you tie yourself up and try to get out of a tank of water" Shuichi nodded and looked back over at the crime scene.

There was a tank filled with water but Himiko was not in it or even close for that to matter. The restraints were present so that made everything even more suspicious. Wouldn't she want to put them on in front of the crowd? The second problem was the cause of death, it appeared to be from a fall. There was the possibility she tripped but the way her legs were bound it seemed more likely she was pushed.

While assessing the body Shuichi got snapped out of his thoughts by a hand being placed on his shoulder. Jumping slightly from the shock he heard a quiet "sorry man" causing him to immediately recognize the voice as Kaito. "I got everyone out just like you asked. So did my sidekick find anything of interest?" Before he could open his mouth Kokichi slid in "Sidekick? He was the one ordering you around a few minutes ago?" Kaito looked down at the smaller boy "Every good hero needs to make sure his sidekicks can succeed!" "Nishishishi, it sounds more like you're compensating for something." Shuichi wriggled out of Kaito's grip to allow the two to bicker as he went over to the other two people in the ring.

"Excuse me, may I get your names and your alibis?" He clicked a pen as he prepared to write it down waiting for the first one to speak. The first person to talk was the girl in the yellow cardigan "I'm Angie Yonaga! The set designer for the circus." She did a small pose before getting serious "I was in the back currently preparing for tomorrow's show. Since tonight is a weeknight, we had a smaller show, but tomorrow is going to be huge!" Shuichi just nodded and wrote everything down before turning to the taller man, "and you?"  
The taller man sighed and started "I'm Korekiyo Shinguji, I work as a storyteller of sorts. I also assist the acrobats." He seemed to smile however it was hard to tell, thanks to the mask. "I was backstage with Angie preparing for the next show. After Himiko's act, Tenko was supposed to show up. She isn't scheduled to arrive for another hour." Shuichi was about to thank the both of them before Angie looked down "How are we going to break this to Tenko-"

Shuichi backed up figuring this wouldn't help the case and he should let the two figure out what to do. He turned to see Kokichi looking over the body and Kaito nowhere to be seen. Shuichi walked up to Kokichi with his notes. "Did my detective forget my name already? Or do you need an alibi?" Shuichi shook his head "You have your alibi, you were-" Kokichi let an exasperated sigh "You're no fun, I was going to tell you that I secretly murdered Himiko." "...What!" Shuichi was startled and confused at the statement. Kokichi laughed and shrugged "That's a lie, but I already know who did it." Shuichi shook his head and looked down at his notes "who do you believe is the prime suspect?" Kokichi laughed again "I'm not the detective here, plus it would be so booooring if I told you." He turned on his heels and started walking off "Why don't you go question Kaito? He seems rather suspicious running off like that." Shuichi nodded and gave a small smile "You're right, thanks Kokichi." Even if he couldn't believe it's Kaito and Kokichi was being more of a hindrance than anything he had to be professional.

Shuichi walked around the ring about to open up a small closest when Kaito popped up next to him. "I tried calling the police again, but I couldn't get service and the phones are dead." Shuichi quickly turned around to see Kaito "Dead? That's not right-" and almost as if on cue a voice went over the speakers. It was muffled almost as if someone was trying to play a radio through the microphone. Three out of the five looked over at Kokichi however Shuichi stared in fear as what he thought was a closet doors handle started turning slowly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! Sorry if anything is off I wrote this one on my phone while waiting for the orthodontist.


	4. A bloody message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The door opens to revile a surprise, a few believe it's supernatural while the others stay unconvinced.

Shuichi started backing up, not being able to speak. He reached for the first person he could, managing to grab Kokichi’s arm. The bickering between Kaito and Kokichi stopped as Shuichi pointed at the door. The room grew eerily silent as the doorknob stopped jiggling. “N-Nobody is supposed to be in there it’s always locked” Kokichi muttered under his breath hoping nobody else heard. His hope was futile as Shuichi grew even more nervous from that information gripping tighter onto Kokichi’s arm. To break the suspense Kaito spoke out “could that just be a draft?” Shuichi snapped at Kaito “of course it’s not a draft, how could a draft cause the doorknob to jiggle like that!” once he noticed the harshness of his tone and the fact he was holding onto Kokichi the detective quickly jumped back and started apologizing profusely. Kaito placed his hand on Shuichi’s shoulder “Hey it’s okay, you just got wor-“Korekiyo popped in “I believe now is not the time, there seems to be a new problem.” Shuichi turned to see what he was alluding to and his jaw dropped. A dark puddle started draining from the closet door causing Shuichi to jump into action to try and get it opened. 

“Does anyone have the key?” Nobody stepped forward. Shuichi sighed figuring he’d have to break down the door. He backed up to ram into it before Kokichi spoke out “Jeeze you guys are useless.” He calmly walked over and picked the lock “and open says me!” he exclaimed as he twisted the doorknob and stepped back for Shuichi to open the door. Shuichi made a mental note to thank Kokichi later but for now he held his breath and opened the door. Nothing was there, just a puddle of blood and cleaning supplies. Almost on cue Kaito ran out of the room, Shuichi couldn’t blame him. He was always uneasy around the seemingly supernatural. Turning to face the others Shuichi looked over at Angie “Please tell me you have fake blood here-“ Her wide eyes looked away “We don’t it must be atua’s doing!” her dower expression turned joyful as Korekiyo sighed and rubbed his temple “I suggest we find the spirit who is causing this and ask what they wish.” With a frown the detective turned to check with Kokichi allowing the peanut gallery to continue with their eccentric conversation. Except he was nowhere to be seen.

Shuichi spun in a circle to see if he could scout him out but neither Kaito nor Kokichi where anywhere to be seen. Giving himself a quick hug to calm down he stood up straight and went over to Korekiyo and Angie. “Make sure nobody disturbs the blood, if anyone suspicious comes by call out for me.” He gave a reassuring smile that ended up looking like a failed picture day photo. After glancing around one last time Shuichi ran out of the tent to go see where Kaito and Kokichi could be. There were so many questions this case had and every second there is more coming up. After circling the tent once Shuichi became desperate and started calling out “Kokichi! Kaito!” no answer. Figuring they must have gone further into the park he sighed and walked a bit closer to the other attractions. Occasionally calling out the others names. 

He was about to turn back once he reached the Farris wheel, hoping he just missed the two he turned on his heels to see Kokichi fall from the sky. Panicking he picked up the smaller boy and sternly spoke “Kokichi! If you died so help me!” Checking for signs of damage Shuichi noted he didn’t have much more than some cuts and bruises. He took off his coat and wrapped it around Kokichi, reaching down to pick him up the smaller boy sat up quickly. “I didn’t know my dear detective cared about me that much nishishi!” Shuichi fell back with a yelp “Was that all some prank-“Kokichi looked around for a moment before laying back down “I was hoping you’d preform CPR or something.” This whole situation was so bizarre Shuichi couldn’t help but get flustered “n-now is not the time to joke about that!” Kokichi laughed and held his hand “Not a prank, I fell from heaven hoping a tall strong detective would take care of me!” Shuichi sighed and stood up “If that is how it is, I’m going to go find Kaito.” Kokichi gasped and jumped up only to stumble a bit causing Shuichi to catch him. “What a coincidence I was looking for that loser too!” Shuichi rolled his eyes and offered his arm to Kokichi to help stabilize him. “I’ll keep an eye out as we head back to the others.” Kokichi looked appalled by the implications “I just fell out of the sky! How rude you don’t even consider carrying me!” He started sniffling before full blown crying. Even though Shuichi knew it was fake he still got concerned “H-hey now, there is no reason to cry!” 

Walking back into the tent Kaito stood with the other two and a mysterious third person. Kokichi of course got his way and was currently in the detective’s jacket and arms giving a wave to the group with a large smile. “Kaito were where you? I was looking for you.” Shuichi put Kokichi down as he asked causing Kaito to give a weird laugh. “The blood spooked me, so I stepped out for a moment and ran into this guy.” He pointed over to a guy with green hair who was currently looking over the body and the blood. “Oh hey, I’m Rantaro Amami. I work at the ticket booth but got locked in when the park got shut down.” Shuichi gave a small wave “Uh hi, I’m Shuichi Saihara a detective.” Rantaro finally looked over at Shuichi and seemed a bit surprised “Oh you’re Kaede’s friend, I’ve heard a lot about you. To bad we’re meeting in this situation.” Shuichi was a bit shocked but gave a small smile “Y-yeah, um did anything happen here while I was gone?”

Angie held her hand in the air “Atua blessed Angie with a phone call! The police will be here in 20 minutes!” Korekiyo gave a small laugh “The first call never got through.” Kaito blinked a few times “That’s weird I definitely talked to the operator.” Kokichi grabbed onto Shuichi’s arm pulling him away from Kaito “seems rather suspicious, maybe Kaito is the murderer!” “Kokichi! Don’t go and make accusations like that! I don’t want to suspect anyone here and we still have to figure out where that blood is from.” Kokichi let go and shrugged “Suit yourself, have fun doing boring detective stuff I’m going to take a nap.” Before the smaller boy could walk away Shuichi grabbed onto his arm “No, no sleeping until someone makes sure you didn’t get a concussion.” Kokichi laughed and hugged Shuichi tightly “You act all tough but do care!” Shuichi sighed and handed Kokichi over to Rantaro “Please take care of him.” Rantaro obliged and Shuichi grabbed Kaito to go check on the blood again.

“It started with the speakers, doorknob, then blood. Did anything else happen during that time?” Kaito shook his head “Just ended up in an argument with the others. Nothing to much.” Shuichi nodded and looked back into the closet to see what he missed. Turning his phones flashlight on something caught his attention. A piece of paper placed in the puddle of blood. Holding his breath Shuichi rolled up his sleeves and picked up the paper. Kaito offered a tissue and Shuichi cleaned the blood off of himself and the note. The paper was covered in wax, making it waterproof and legible. Turning the note over he started reading, each line making him more and more nervous until it hit him.


	5. The night has only just began

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first act has concluded with one simple discovery. No where closer to finding the murderer will Shuichi crumble under the pressure?

Shuichi quickly looked over his shoulder before stepping into the closet and closing the door. He didn’t care if Kaito was confused, he didn’t care if he was tampering with evidence, he didn’t even care if he got blood on his shoes, all he cared about was making sure this note was telling the truth. Flicking his phones light on he read the note again,

To whomever has found this note  
I know you’re most likely the detective in this group, the others wouldn’t have found this easy clue even if they wanted to. I leave to you some advice; you detective would have it in your best interest to find the source of the blood. For something or someone you care deep about is possibly connected. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if you haven’t run off with Kaito, or maybe it’s better that you did. Detective, mark my words I do not care about the casualties, I do not care about the damage, I don’t even care about those who are with you. The only thing I care about is taking you down, you’ve been a thorn in my side for much to long. Nonetheless!

My deepest condolences,  
Your secret admirer  
Shuichi felt his hands tremble as he read it over and over. A sinking feeling in his gut made him sick, he never even made a presence wherever he went. It’s not like him to make enemies. He reached up to his hat pulling it down to obscure his face. Once he was sure nobody could tell he let out a small sniffle, the situation was already getting out of hand. Now this note just terrified him to the core. He gripped onto his hat and shook his head “pull it together imagine if anyone saw you like this. You’d get an earful from Kaede if she were here” he looked back down at the note and nodded. Even if this note was lying, he had to go find the blood source. He started pressing the ceiling to see if there was a lose board. He tapped the ceiling a couple times to make sure that it was in fact damp. With that he opened the door to see Korekiyo and Angie preforming some ritual. He sighed and was about to go find Kaito before getting tackled to the ground. “W-woah! Hey!” it was no use he ended up falling straight onto the floor as Rantaro rushed over. “Shuichi please! They’re getting out of hand!” Kaito pleaded holding on to Shuichi’s legs.

Shuichi was still in shock as Rantaro lifted him out of Kaito’s grip. “Don’t damage our detective, I’m already taking care of one person and we don’t need to lose the only qualified one here.” His voice was calm but assertive. Shuichi would have probably been intimidated if he weren’t currently pressed against the others chest as he was cradled. Kaito scoffed “fine, I get your point, but you don’t have to hold him like he’s some child.” Rantaro looked confused before quickly putting Shuichi down “Sorry! Force of habit, I’m going to go make sure Kokichi isn’t burning anything down-“He pointed behind him before quickly walking off. Shuichi stood a bit disoriented before turning to Kaito “I need your help”

“What! You want me to punch a hole in the closet ceiling?” Shuichi nodded with his arms crossed “We’ve wasted enough time already and you’re the only one I feel can do this.” Kaito rubbed the back of his neck before nodding “Anything for my sidekick.” Shuichi gave a soft smile and stepped out of the way. As if it was nothing Kaito broke the ceiling causing a ladder to fall from the hole. With a yelp he jumped back “As you see it was no problem at all!” Shuichi smiled and gave Kaito a thumbs up. Looking up at the hole he turned back to Kaito “If I’m not back in ten minutes send Kokichi or Rantaro up.” “Do you not trust me!” Kaito grabbed Shuichi’s shoulders tightly as he asked “N-no I trust you the most…it’s just that you’re to big for the hole. It looks like a tight fit even for me- “he started trailing off worried on How Kaito would take that. Luckily, he let go of Shuichi and did a small flex “Yeah, I get it, these muscles are to big to fit through that mouse hole. Good luck sidekick.” With that he waved before standing next to the door to stand guard. Shuichi nodded before starting to climb up.

The ladder was sticky with blood, he couldn’t let that deter him now. The scent of blood was so potent that he felt like gagging. Looking around he saw something slumped on a chair, slowly he started walking towards it. The thought came back to him of what the letter said, “Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if you haven’t run off with Kaito, or maybe it’s better that you did.” He froze, glancing around the room there was the speakers and a small monitor for announcements. This must have been where the speakers came into play but if that was the case then who was in the chair. Bracing for the worst he twisted the swivel chair around and his world came crashing around him. In his hand was a lock of blond hair.

“Shuichi? Hey, Hey! Earth to Shuichi!” Kaede waved her hand in front of his face. “Ah! Akamatsu what are-““Did you forget the day already? Its Thursday, we always go out on Thursdays.” Shuichi gave a nervous smile “S-sorry I haven’t been paying attention. Are we going to the café?” she nodded with a large smile “Oh! And there is someone I want you to meet!” Shuichi tilted his head in confusion, he knew Kaede had lots of friends, but she’s never tried to introduce him to anyone before. He had only a couple consisting of Kaito and Maki who he met this year and then Kaede who he’s been best friends with since elementary. “Keep it between you and me but-“She leaned in real close causing Shuichi to gulp nervously. “I got a boyfriend!” She jumped up and clapped her hands. “Really? How long have you guys been together?” Shuichi questioned finally closing his locker. “Around three months, he didn’t want it to be a big deal so we promised to keep quiet about it.” Shuichi gripped his hat only to have Kaede push it off “Don’t worry about it, he wanted to meet you. You’re my best friend after all.” He gave a small smile and nodded “Y-yeah, sorry Akamatsu I just got worried.” She shook her head and picked up his hat “You’ve always been this way, if you opened yourself up a bit more, you’d definitely be one of those popular boys.” Shuichi scrunched his nose in disgust “That only motivates me to stay away from opening-“before he could finish he got a hard flick on the nose “Quiet now, meet me at the café at four. And don’t forget!” With that she turned on her heals and left leaving Shuichi to put his hat back on and head off to the library like usual.

His hands started trembling as he backed up “no, no, no- this is my fault…I should have been faster. I should have gone with you not Kaito.”  
Whenever Kaito dragged him anywhere it was hard to say no. Despite everything he sent a single message to Kaede “Hey sorry, I’ll drop by tomorrow morning Kaito ended up kidnapping me.” He left it at that only glancing at the “No no its fine, I get it. We’ll go grab some breakfast tomorrow. All three of us! See you then <3” it was a typical message from her, but it made his heart warm up. He really didn’t deserve her.  
“I-I forgive me, forgive me-“his back hit the wall and he crumpled down into a ball. With that all his feelings escaped like a flood. He hit the floor and screamed “I should have been there to protect you Kaede!”

Kaede turned around to see her boyfriend “He ended up getting kidnapped by that goob Kaito. Seriously he needs to learn how to say no and Kaito needs to learn how to take a no.” She sighed and shook her head pocketing her phone. “They both mean a lot to me though.” Her smile shown like the sun “I guess tonight will be a date and tomorrow will be breakfast. Let’s go get crepes, my treat!”  
It all happened to fast Shuichi couldn’t control himself, he felt terrible like his insides where knotting up. He wanted to puke but nothing would come. He just sat there sobbing; he couldn’t stop. All he could think was he was not fit for the ultimate detective title if he was this weak. 

Kaito could hear the thud but tried to ignore it. His stomach sunk as he heard a scream. That was uncharacteristic for Shuichi, he was always so reserved something was definitely wrong. Glancing at the time he furrowed his eyebrows it had only been 8 minutes but its close enough. Quickly he sprinted towards Rantaro and Kokichi who where sitting together. “Somebody needs to go get Shuichi.” Kokichi was about to make a joke but realizing Kaito was dead serious he stood up “What happened” Kaito blinked in surprise, he hasn’t seen Kokichi this serious before. It seemed like he was directing him and all he could do was swallow his pride and lead the smaller boy to the closet. “The recording room is-“ Kaito gripped Kokichi’s shirt “Now is not the time, go up there something is wrong” Kokichi gave a bright smile and nodded “I’ll rescue your damsel in distress” He gave a salute and went up the latter. The moment nobody else could see his smile dropped. The sticky blood made his concern grow and once he slid into the room, he felt bile build up in his throat from the smell. He did his best to stop his gag as he turned his head to the sobbing noise.  
Noticing it was Shuichi he ran over as fast as possible and shook the taller boy “Detective what happened!” Shuichi couldn’t do anything but just hug Kokichi and sob. No words could escape his mouth. Kokichi looked down and pet Shuichi’s hair to comfort him. “Shh- my dearest Shuichi you need to calm down” It took a couple minutes for the sobs to subside as Shuichi sat up and wiped his face “Kaede-“ Kokichi looked puzzled but before he could question much a light filled the room. Rantaro stood there with Kaito. Shuichi guessed they found the proper way to get in. Kaito looked pissed and Rantaro looked horrified. 

Shuichi didn’t let go of Kokichi, but his eyes drifted to the chair. There sat Kaede, completely coated in blood as there was knife wounds all over her body. Time seemed to slow down once Shuichi let go of Kokichi. Walking over to his dearest friend he took off his hat and placed it next to her. Wiping his face, he turned to the group. His voice was horse but assertive “We will bring down justice to the killer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, this chapter was hard to write. However the story has finally started rolling! I'm planning on updating twice a week now with it being every Tuesday like usual but also Thursdays.


	6. Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A singular box a singular question.

Shuichi stood their adrenaline rushing through him. After acting so confidently he gave everyone a smile before fainting. Everyone kind of just stared at Shuichi for a minute. Rantaro was about to go pick up Shuichi but the detective waved his hand with a groggy “I’m fine.” Kokichi rolled his eyes “Geez what a good detective you are. Can’t even stand a body- “Kaito smacked Kokichi on the back of his head “Shut up, now is not the time!” Before Kokichi could make a snarky remark Rantaro turned around “I’m going to head out boss, there is still two people outside.” Kokichi only nodded and looked back over at Shuichi.

Shuichi had managed to get up and start on his investigation. He started by writing down what he believed the cause of death was, a single laceration on her stomach was the most likely. He clutched his jacket and shook his head, he had to keep going. “Kokichi please come here?” Kokichi nodded and walked over “What does my dearest detective want?” Shuichi looked down at Kaede “Do you have gloves?” “why would you ask-“Shuichi looked down at Kokichi pleadingly “Fine! I’ll go find the cleaning closet.” Shuichi looked back over at Kaede “Thank you Kokichi” Kokichi froze before nodding and walking away. 

Once Shuichi was sure Kokichi had left he turned around to face Kaito slowly walking up to him. “s-she’s gone…She’s really gone” He felt tears well up again as he buried his face into his friends holding him tightly “Yeah, she is. But nothing can stop it now.” He started comforting the smaller boy “You’ll be okay, you’re strong enough to overcome this.” Shuichi wiped his face and let go “Y-yeah you’re right. Thanks, Kaito.” Kaito gave a large grin and a thumbs up “no problem bro! You’re my sidekick after all!” Shuichi let out a small laugh. “Ahem, sorry not break this touching moment up but-“Kokichi handed Shuichi a small box. Shuichi opened it up as his eyes widened in surprise “How did you find this stuff?” Kokichi shrugged “Stole it off someone” Not believing Kokichi for a second Shuichi shot a glare in the others direction. “That was a lie! But it would be no fun if I told.”

Shaking his head Shuichi got to work, placing the gloves on his hands. “You might want to leave the room Kaito, she was your friend too.” He nodded and without further questions climbed down the steps. Tossing his phone over to Kokichi, he gave a small smile “can you take pictures? In case I disturb any evidence?” Kokichi raised an eyebrow before skipping over to stand next to his dearest detective. Shuichi started by checking all the wounds. She had the large laceration on her abdomen which seemed to be the cause of death however, there where many smaller cuts and stab marks all over her body. This seemed to be a murder fueled by much more emotion than Himiko’s. Her face was one of shock and she showed a few signs of struggling. 

Taking the flashlight out of the box he started shining it all over to see if anything caught in the light. He stopped once he reached her face and froze. Kokichi glanced over with concern only for Shuichi to shake his head and mumble “take a picture now, something is shoved in her throat.” Kokichi looked somewhat surprised, snapping the photo he stepped back to allow the detective to do what he needed. Reaching down her throat he was glad he had gloves, but this still hurt him deeply. His fingers locked around a hard object that he slowly pulled out. He held a small box in his hand, if the note was any prior indication of the perpetrator, he knew this was not just disposing of evidence. He heard a click to his side as Kokichi took a picture of the box. His thoughts slowly dissipating he looked over at Kokichi “Before I open this, I want you to tell me the truth.”

Kokichi’s eyes narrowed as his smile dropped “Why would I do that? It would ruin the game.” Shuichi took off one of his gloves and pressed his finger to Kokichi’s lips. His voice cracked as he spoke “Please promise me that you’ll just answer this one question. I’ll even answer one of yours just please.” Kokichi looked around for a moment before nodding. Shuichi’s mouth twitched and he looked down again his hand clenched on the box “Tell me where you’ve seen this box before.” Kokichi backed up a bit “What do you mean?” Shuichi looked back down “You promised-“ Kokichi gave a large smile “Aren’t Detectives not supposed to press for false information?” Shuichi didn’t move an inch, he just stayed silent. Kokichi shifted uncomfortably before looking down “June 6th this year, you caught me stealing it from a shop. One of my members tripped and you let them get away.” Shuichi’s grip on the box tightened “Is this why Dice has been quiet?” Kokichi started laughing “Yes! I stayed away from my beloved detective, just for him to somehow run into my side gig, have me stab him with swords, murder my own employee, and then smash his best friends head in with a shotput ball.”

Shuichi’s brow furrowed “There is no shotput ball.” Kokichi shook his head and turned around “Hurry up and open the damn box while I think of a question for you. I want it to be equally as grueling to tell.” His words where laced with malice, which hurt Shuichi at his core. Opening the box there was exactly what he thought would be there. A single silver necklace with a single diamond heart surrounded by childish charms. Shuichi felt his heart sink, about to close the box something got stuck in the latch. Opening it back up a single paper slid onto the ground. The box was thin and slim but still wide enough for the paper to sit. Picking it off the floor Shuichi looked over the neatly arranged letters.

“How sad, it seems you where a few minutes to late. It must hurt to be filled with this much despair. You may be curious how I even got my hands on this. Personally, I find it tacky, nonetheless it is a clue to who I really am! Just seeing the box must have made your suspicion rise to a certain liar. I’m not Kokichi, but who knows that can be a lie. I may be working with him; he has a reason to hate you. I could be throwing you off your tracks. I’m incredibly sorry for your loss, I wish it didn’t have to be this way.

Your secret admirer”

Shuichi wanted to throw the note down and grind it into the dirt with his foot. How dare they make him suspect Kokichi even more. He was about to go through with the plan when Kokichi grabbed his arm. “I have my question.” He looked serious once again “Despite knowing who I am, despite the situation, why did my dearest detective continue to flirt with me?” Shuichi froze, out of all he could have asked. He could have asked about the case, he could have held onto the question, he could have even tried to dig up his secrets so why this. He reached up for his hat only to see it still on the floor. Kokichi was looking up intently. “I- you. I mean-“ He gulped and looked away, he couldn’t look Kokichi in the eye. “You where my favorite case….I wanted to know more about you. You’re just so hard to understand, you also had many chances to stop me but you didn’t. I…” He glanced over at Kaede “I can’t do this now Kokichi” He gripped onto the others jacket “It’s hard enough already don’t incriminate yourself more.” Kokichi grabbed onto Shuichi’s hands a bright smile on his face “I didn’t expect you to actually answer, what would anyone else think if they saw you like this? Shuichi let go of Kokichi and nodded, “You’re right, lets go. I want to check something.” 

Kokichi gripped onto Shuichi’s arm as the detective stood up tall. Walking down the step he kept an eye out to see if there was any blood. Planning to question everyone once again, he was halfway down the steps when a hand shot through the wall and covered his mouth with a rag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! Like I promised I got a chapter out today. Hopefully it won't be as hard to get two chapters out as it was today, but I had to do a midterm. Eitherway, we're almost halfway through the story! Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far it really brightens my day to see your comments.


	7. Sir kidnapping is not a good deed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi get's kidnapped but while Kokichi tries to find him the rest of the cast grows more suspicious.

Shuichi originally thought he was getting chloroformed, instead the attacker gagged him, dragged him, and then hit him on the top of his head. It was more efficient but when he woke up he had a splitting headache. He tried to move but realized he was gagged and tied up. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Tears welled up in his eyes as he tried to get out but he had…handcuffs? He tried to move out of the chair but his legs where tied too. He couldn’t panic now, Kokichi saw everything he would get help! He was putting to much trust into the boy but Shuichi couldn’t help it. It was his last chance.

He tried to get an idea of the room, it was dark but his eyes where already adjusted. There seemed to be a table filled with equipment, he couldn’t make it all out. Other than that the room was barren. He sat still feeling hot tears run down his cheeks. He tried to calm down but once he heard a person enter the room it made his fear greater. He couldn’t ask who it was, he couldn’t turn to see, he just had to sit there as a blindfold was put on his face and the lights turned on. He couldn’t tell exactly who was talking, they were obviously talking different on purpose. One thing was for certain, they were definitely a guy.

“It seemed you found my note, congratulations Shuichi you won!” Shuichi stayed quiet and unmoving, he wanted to be able to gather as much information from his kidnapper as possible. “Now you may be wondering, what did I win? Did you kill her? What are you going to do to me? All of those questions will be answered soon enough.” The perpetrator could be heard rustling and then a slide of wood on wood. It seemed like they where taking seat. “First, I have questions for you, just to get my story straight. If you’re good, I’ll take out that gag and if you’re bad?” There was a slam next to Shuichi’s hand “Say goodbye to your fingertips” Shuichi figured he knew where this was going, they were smart and most likely smart enough to figure the detective knew too. It would be harder to identify a body if the fingerprints where gone and burning or cutting the fingertips was the fastest way to do that.

Shuichi gave a nod in understanding and the perpetrator started again “You will answer with a yes or no in form of a nod, if I ask something that has to do with numbers you’ll answer with your fingers. I won’t ask anything unfair, I’m not a bad person believe me.” If Shuichi wasn’t scared and gagged he would have made a comment about how kidnapping and threatening a person wasn’t really a good deed. He didn’t want to get hurt so he just gave another nod in understanding.

“Let’s start off easy, how long have you known Akamatsu?” Shuichi held up eight fingers trying to avoid the tears from coming back. “Really, Childhood friends? I knew you where close but not that close.” Shuichi put his hands down as the next question came up “Did you know Kokichi before this night?” Shuichi hesitantly nodded, bringing both Kokichi and Kaede in this hurt to much. “You’re doing so well, I’m proud of you, final question before you get your reward.” They where to close for Shuichi’s liking, the whisper had their real voice break through a couple times, but Shuichi couldn’t pinpoint who this was. “Would you have taken her place, if you got the chance?” Shuichi nodded sure of it, however the other didn’t like that answer. They stabbed a knife between the middle and index finger causing shuihi to hold his breath. “I know you would have, but that’s not the way it played out.” The knife was slowly removed, and Shuichi let out a small whimper.

Scared out of his mind the feeling of the cloth being taken out of his mouth he felt only a slight bit of relief. “Don’t think this means you can talk out of turn; a promise is a promise after all.” Shuichi closed his mouth and waited for the next instruction. “You are really complacent; it shows how weak you are. Kaede held out till the end and here you are being obedient.” The sound of a drawer opening followed by a shuffling noise made Shuichi scared of what they where grabbing next. Something soft was pressed against his lips and a request filled with a loving tone came out “eat” Shuichi opened his mouth and took a bite, it was probably poisoned or laced with something but to his surprise it was just a cake. “You’re too cute, I’m glad you didn’t show up.” A hand cupped Shuichi’s cheek and he felt a shiver fall down his spine. “Answering question three.” He leaned in close to Shuichi’s ear and his voice became normal “I’m going to keep you safe, you won after all…. Kaede didn’t mean much to me anyways.” Shuichi’s eyes widened and he felt the urge to punch them right in the face, he clenched his hands and looked away. It was for not because the perpetrator took his face into their hand and slowly dragged their hand down his neck “Next we just need to get rid of the pet you’ve been hiding for all these months”

Angie was currently leaning on one of the support beams of the tent. “I wonder why they make us stay behind while they investigate.” Korekiyo shrugged with his wheeze of a laugh “maybe because you seem unphased by your best friend laying dead five feet away.” Angie pointed over at the candles surrounding Himiko “I know she’s with atua, I would move her if the police where here.” She poked the others cheek and Korekiyo shrugged. “I’m indifferent, I only travel here to work on my studies.” Angie walked up closer to Korekiyo “You know Atua could show you more, you don’t have to just learn about religions.” Korekiyo shook his head “I would prefer to stay out of your cult.” Angie shrugged and sat down on the floor “Atua forgives you for calling our community a cult.”

The two sat in silence for a while before Korekiyo got up to look in the blood filled closet. “This whole place is cursed with bad energy; I fear this is out of revenge.” Angie was already right behind Korekiyo when he turned around “I’m surprised you are clean for this one.” He started to grow nervous “W-what are you talking about! I didn’t lay a hand on anyone.” Angie waved her finger in front of his face “Atua see’s all, your purpose is honorable but twisted.” With that Angie skipped off to go back to her place leaving Korekiyo to wonder what her goal was. She wouldn’t have any reason to frame him, he shouldn’t be concerned.

Kokichi saw Shuichi slip out of his grip. He ran over to the wall and took the loose board off but nobody could be seen. He kicked the wall and cursed “This wasn’t how this night was supposed to go!” He clenched his fist and swallowed his pride. He had no clue where everyone else went but knew he had to find either Kaito or Rantaro. He was worried they might be gone too. He slid down the stairs only to see Korekiyo and Angie talking about something. He couldn’t see Rantaro or Kaito around, so Koichi went up to his two employees. “Did you happen to see Rantaro pass by?” Angie shrugged and leaned back again, Korekiyo thought about it for a while “He seems to have vanished, there are many trap doors in this establishment maybe he left through one of those.” Kokichi turned around “right…. That leaves two people missing and one person kidnapped” He held out his fingers and the two listened. Korekiyo stood up “Angie and I will check under the floorboards. We know that space the best.” He kept it short, turning to leave with that warning. Kokichi let out an exacerbated sigh “I’m going with you, if someone ends up dead it would be boring if I don’t get to see the body.” That of course was a lie, he was worried about the others, but he couldn’t show that now. It was pretty crappy luck that their detective of all people disappeared…. he better not end up dead.

Kokichi grabbed the flashlight that was on the floor as Korekiyo and Angie prepared themselves to head under the floor as well. One by one they each slipped through the trap door. Under the boards it was fairly spacious. There was a small room with some of Angie’s equipment for touch ups, first aid, anything needed before they went back to the stage. Korekiyo was the only one who had to crouch but Kokichi decided it was his fault for being a giant. Angie opened up a smaller door and started crawling through it motioning for the two boys to follow her. Kokichi knew about this space but he didn’t really go down here often. It was just a part of the space they rented. Angie eventually slid down somewhere ending up in another room. Kokichi’s eyebrows furrowed…this place wasn’t on the map. He looked up between Angie and Korekiyo for an explanation, but none was given. 

Angie skipped around the room and pointed to a door “If he is anywhere, he would be through that door!” She then put her arms above her head “Atua bless you that you make it in time.” Kokichi couldn’t care less about Atua but he nodded as a thanks to Angie. She was trying even if well… they didn’t have the best relationship. He opened the door; it was just large enough for him to stand. He started walking down the hallway with his flashlight bright, then the door closed behind him. He didn’t have time to get scared or turn around to see what was happening. He just had to get to the bottom of this. He stopped next to another door, holding his breath his eyes grew wide once he threw the door open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so tired, midtearm have been beating me to the ground but I shall not miss an update. Thursday is going to be the main turning point of the story where tags and the summery will be updated! I am super excited!


	8. Smoke and mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the situation gets worse for everyone at the circus, will backup come soon enough?

Kaito slammed the phone down once he got no signal again. He paused for a moment before remembering he had his own phone. He started dialing mumbling “come on, come on, just pick up the damn phone” When finally “Kaito, I swear to god if you locked yourself outside of the apartment again you are sleeping outside!” Kaito felt like he was about to cry, his voice cracked when he spoke again “Maki, thank the stars you are okay. Listen Shuichi and I got stuck in some deep shit. I know you are busy but…” His voice trailed off as he looked around “You are the only one other than Shuichi that I can trust. Before you call me an idiot for calling you, I know already. Just- I gotta go soon, stay safe someone already got Kaede.” “Kaito, what are you-“Kaito made a shushing noise and whispered “I love you, stay safe we’ll make it out, okay?” Maki’s concern was growing with every word “Kaito did you seriously hang up on me!” She started dialing his phone only to get “The person you are trying to reach is not available, please leave a message.” Her head hit the table “That stupid idiot calls me now just to tell me he’s in a life or death situation?” She looked up to see Tenko stirring her drink “Geeze the degenerate males always end up the damsels in distress. You said he went to the circus, right? Himiko works there, I can get you in.”

Kaito shoved his phone into his pocket and walked back into the tent, Rantaro had not come back yet but Angie and Korekiyo where still where they were last. Kaito walked up to the two peaking Angie’s interest first “Um hey, have you seen anyone else pass by?” Angie pressed her hands together in a praying motion “calm your worries, Atua is watching over us. We have no need to worry about this.” He rolled his eyes “Cut your righteousness bullshit, what about you?” Korekiyo looked around before shrugging with a laugh “My my, the little mouse is looking for the cheese? How ex-“ before Korekiyo could finish Kaito turned around “Be glad I’m not going to punch you for now, great help you are-“ Angie jumped in front of Kaito “But I called the police!” Kaito’s fist trembled as he clenched his jaw “Then why are they not here yet! You said 20 minutes an hour ago!” Angie shrugged and went behind Kaito “Maybe Atua had something else planned for this night” Her smile was creepy making Kaito push her off. “Whatever, just don’t get in my way I’m taking this seriously.”

The pair watched as Kaito stormed back up to the attic. Korekiyo’s laugh cut through the silence “Our poor little mouse is falling right into the trap.” Angie turned to face Korekiyo “Now now, this is only part of our little deal.” She spun around with a large smile “Atua is proud of both of us today, and in return for helping atua. I won’t say a word” She skipped out of the room with a smile humming the whole way. Once she left the room, Korekiyo slowly started making his way up to the attic.

Kokichi stepped into a room of mirrors. He slowly started to make his way towards the center of the room only to realize it was a maze. He started walking figuring his beloved was on the other end of this room. However, the further he walked the more put together this maze became. Starting with standard cheep mirrors melded into full walls, and eventually lights, then whole displays. Kokichi knew he would have loved this if it where a normal situation but now he had to go find Shuichi. He clenched his fist and continued to follow the walls. He couldn’t believe this kind of sick joke was right under his nose. He let out a giggle and called out “hello! Spooky monster or murderer! I’m all open! He knew it wouldn’t work but he wanted to lighten the mood up. Each step became less certain as time passed; this maze was getting stupid. All he wanted to do was make sure Shuichi wasn’t dead in the basement not be forced to play a game. 

He stopped once he realized he made it to a sitting area, it was pretty. The lights twinkled off the mirrors and a small monitor was placed right in the middle of the room. Kokichi hesitantly turned it on to see Shuichi tied up to a chair, a knife pointed to his throat by an arm he didn’t recognize. Their voice was off, it sounded like Rantaro’s but their clothes where different. “Ah! Shuichi! The signal is on, do you have any last words for your pet?” Shuichi shook his head and called out “K-kokichi! Just run! Forget about me just get out of here!” Kokichi was confused, he knew after everything Shuichi still cared about him, but this was to much. The visual cut out but the audio rang throughout the maze “You better start running Kokichi, you are no longer in control of this game!” A cackle erupted from the speakers causing Kokichi to comply. The sound of Shuichi’s scream made the small boy run faster than he ever knew he could. He was going to ignore Shuichi’s warning; he knew that scream was bad.

Kokichi wished he could turn off the speakers as the laugh continued to ring through the maze. Once he thought he got to the exit he ran straight into a mirror causing his nose to bleed. Hastily he stood up trying to get the blood to stop, looking around the area he noticed he needed to go right instead of left. Clutching onto his nose he made it into the room, he completed the maze, but his prize was not a good one. He stopped once the speakers started again, this time a different voice, one he didn’t recognize rang through his head. “Oopsies! Seems like the jester has lost his spark! Let’s give him one final chance to redeem himself with this little Joke!” Kokichi looked around trying to figure out what they meant when the floor collapsed under him.

Shuichi looked away, his hand was bleeding, but he didn’t have time to care. He knew Kokichi was going to get hurt because of him. He just prayed that Kokichi would be able to get out as unharmed as possible. Shuichi hung his head low while the other spoke still in their new voice “Haha! What a loser” They started sniffling “Man it really bums me out when I see love this strong…. Turn into total fricken despair!” Their laughing continued as they walked out of the room, a new calmer voice came forward “Stay here sweetheart, I still have one more person to take care of before Kokichi is gone for good.” With that the door closed and Shuichi immediately got to scooting his chair towards the table.

Kokichi was surprised he was still alive but coated in blood from his no longer bleeding nose. He sat up to see where he was only to be greeted by a mattress and more mirrors. Flopping back onto the mattress he laid there thinking of a way to get out. The hole he fell through was closed but he knew there had to be a way to open it again. He tapped his fingers on the mattress before rolling off to check the mirrors. Each one was the same, a stupid room made to make him reflect on his actions. Whoever was behind this wasn’t going to let him starve here right? Once the situation finally hit him, Kokichi curled up into a ball, dread setting in. “N-no, I’m sorry I don’t want to stay here. I want to go back to him; I need to say I’m sorry.” He felt his cheeks get hot with tears as he frantically wiped them away “no a supreme leader never cries for real! So, stop it, I don’t wanna!” despite his plead tears kept streaming down his face. He sat there crying for a while before finally standing back up. With a sniffle he started searching again, he wasn’t going to let a stupid room full of mirrors defeat him. He had to get back to Shuichi and the others, he knew something big was coming and he was not going to miss it. 

Shuichi finally tilted the chair over to the table frantically attempting to get his phone back. He got the blindfold off with the table’s corner and eventually he managed to knock the phone over with the box of cakes, now typing in a number with his nose. Proud, he just prayed the phones where back up like Angie said earlier. Now just waiting for the phone to ring. It rang, and rang, and rang…. nobody was picking up. Shuichi called again, no answer. His hope starting to leave he called one last time and “Shuichi! Stop calling me it’s midnight! Don’t tell me you forgot to do your part of the project!” Shuichi’s smile came back as he put his head on the table “H-hey Keebo…I need a favor; it doesn’t involve school.” The other end was silent for a bit “That’s uncharacteristic of you, what is wrong-“ Shuichi looked back down at his hand “I need you to get ahold of the police to make sure our call got through, I’m sure you can track the address through the phone….Kaito is with me but I know he won’t pick up now…Just call the police please Keebo- Kokichi is hurt, I’m tied up, and I don’t know when they are coming back-“ the other end was quiet again “how do you know Kokichi? He doesn’t go to our school?” Shuichi panicked “N-no Keebo! Please believe me, I met him tonight sorta…Just believe me that we need help.” Keebo could be heard yelling to someone in the background before going back to Shuichi “I’ll call the police now, we’re on our way.” Before Shuichi could protest Keebo hung up. Shuichi just prayed that Keebo wouldn’t get hurt during that. For now he had to figure out how to get this knife out of his hand and himself out of this chair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! I am so sorry about the chapter being later, I just couldn't write anything Thursday. I wanna give special thanks to GenyaChan and kekowoo for all their kind words. I also wanna thank my super rad freindo Hoshi for helping me plan out this half of the story.


	9. Rantaro is a cryptid I swear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Road trip time with a robot, does anyone even read these?

Kokichi laid back down onto the bed, he was just tired of this all. No escape could be seen, so he just pressed his hand up to the ceiling. He couldn’t reach it due to his short arms but any average size person would have to crouch to stay in here. His hand fell over his eyes before reaching into his jacket pocket pulling out the necklace box. He rolled over so the monitor could illuminate the contents within. He slowly took out the necklace wrapping it around his fingers. Bringing the tacky silver closer to his chest he let out a sigh “I’m sorry my dearest detective….I should have listened to you-“

June 6th  
Shuichi Saihara was hanging out with Kaede, but they ended up getting separated. She ran off to go help some green haired dude find his sister. Shuichi stopped to look at the stars when he heard a smashing of glass. He quickly ran over to the sound seeing a girl with twin tails and a clown mask quickly shoving a box over to a smaller person in a clown mask who had a cape. A guy with an orange afro and a clown mask was spray painting the wall of the shop, Shuichi’s eye’s widened when it read out DICE. Just his luck, he stumbled upon another group by accident. “E-Excuse me?” Shuichi asked, this is why he was a detective and not a cop. He could never intimidate anyone. The three clowns looked over at Shuichi, the one in the cape letting out a laugh as the girl with twin tails spoke “Are you lost? We’re criminals not tour guides” The one in the cape shook his head and sat on the counter crisscross “No way, this one is way to exciting to just be lost” Shuichi took a deep breath and pulled out his badge “I’m not a full detective but I can still call the police” There was silence in the store before the three erupted into laughter. This made Shuichi blush in embarrassment, it wasn’t supposed to go this way.

The one in a cape started dragging Shuichi into the store by his arm “No way! You’re a real detective! I can’t believe you found my organization this late” he put his hands behind his head after dragging shuichi into the building. The girl in twin tails bounced around Shuichi “Wow! You did it boss!” The guy with the Afro popped into the conversation “Weren’t you with that blonde girl earlier? Before she ran off with Rantaro?” Shuichi gulped nervously “Kaede…. How did you-“ The boy in the cape grabbed Shuichi’s badge and read it “Nishsishsi Shuichi Saihara! I’m going to call you shumai.” The small boy leaned in close to Shuichi “Hey! Hey! Since your girlfriend ditched you, you should become my boyfriend! Or at least my personal detective! Come on , come on! You can’t say noooo~. We could be a phantom thief and detective duo!” Shuichi gripped the table he was near, he was way over his head “I-I don’t think you know what detectives do-“ A girl with long brown hair popped her head in the room “B-boss… He finished up, it’s time for us to go-“ The boy sighed “how boring, fiiiiiine” He pulled out a box and handed it to Shuichi “Consider this our promise” With a cloud of smoke everyone was gone leaving just Shuichi and a long necklace box. He noticed a crash and an obvious sign of someone tripping to get behind the counter, but he let them go. He couldn’t break this promise yet, he wanted to find out more from the thief.

Kokichi put the necklace away, each of the charms represented a member Shuichi managed to befriend. It was cliche like some dumb videogame plot, but it was fun. All though they were supposed to be enemies Shuichi always let them get away. Even if one of them messed up and could have gotten caught by any other person he let them go. He sat back up with his legs crossed. They where like secret friends, Shuichi didn’t know his true identity till today and Kokichi made sure that every time they encountered each other it was more spectacular than the last. Yet a couple months ago DICE had to go quiet. It hurt Kokichi but they had to do it for now, even if Shuichi never turned them in others might. So they disappeared without a trace, it may have hurt his dearest detective, all the time they spent together, everything they felt for each other but Kokichi wanted to prioritize everyone’s safety. They all got caught once, they couldn’t break out again, it was to risky. So, the group decided to lay low for a year, Kokichi took a couple members and started a circus while the others went and did their own thing. Kokichi sat up and felt a bit better, his beloved detective knew where he was, and someone here could get proper help. He smiled and leaned back wondering how long it would take.

Maki and Tenko where currently in the car with Keebo and Miu. They met up with each other when Keebo and Miu noticed Tenko and Maki running in the same direction they where driving so they offered a lift. Soon learning they were in the same predicament. Miu crossed her arms and rolled her eyes “Can this car go any fuckin faster?” Keebo held a finger up “it is unwise to drive over the speed limit” Maki glared at Keebo “Do you want to die?” Tenko groaned “Even if I don’t like Angie, Himiko is still trapped with those degenerate males so hurry up and hit the gas peddle!” Keebo shook their head “There is a probability that I’ll get a ticket if i-“ Miu rolled her eyes and opened the door as the car was still moving “Keebo stop the fucking car!” Keebo tried to protest but Miu just opened the door wider. The two switched seats letting Miu be the driver. She didn’t care much about the situation but Keebo and her where doing a robotics project when Shuichi called, and she wanted to go back to that as soon as possible. So, she floored the gas pedal. Keebo hugged onto his knees as they cried “This is way over the speed limit!” Miu flipped everyone off “You think I fucking care this shit is cool!” Tenko and Maki just sat in the back, more worried about their significant others than anything else.

About five minutes into the drive Miu hit the brakes when she noticed someone in the road “Hey fucker! Stop blocking the path before I run you over!” “Miu please don’t terrorize the pedestrians!” Tenko laughed at Keebo’s plead “Jeeze you’re such a mom” Keebo turned around and glared at Tenko “The first law of robotics says I shall not harm a human” Maki rolled her eyes “Just because you are a robot nerd doesn’t mean you are a real robot-“ Keebo huffed and looked over to who their girlfriend was terrorizing to see Rantaro. “Hey guys, funny seeing you here” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly “Mind if you give me a ride?” 

The car was awkward as Rantaro got stuck with the middle seat. Maki glared up at Rantaro “How did you even get here, Tenko mentioned you’re the ticket boy” Rantaro let out a nervous laugh “hah funny story actually….I was looking for some friends or a working phone. Turns out I’m really good at breaking down doors.” His look turned serious “I believe Kaito is in trouble, I saw Korekiyo follow him into the attic while looking for Shuichi.” Maki crossed her arms and shook her head “what idiots, if anyone lays a hand on them, they’re dead” Rantaro let out more nervous laughs and curled up into a slight ball. He didn’t want maki to stab him with the pen she was furiously clicking and Tenko looked like she was about to roundhouse kick him into the sun. Rantaro leaned up a bit so he could talk to Keebo “Hey can I borrow your phone?” Keebo nodded and handed it over “I already contacted the police, they mentioned how there was no calls made to this area tonight.” Rantaro shrugged and started dialing a number “Hello? Yeah, yeah, it’s me. Listen you know the worst-case scenario…. it’s happening…. yeah…mhm…well bye” He hung up the phone and handed it back to Keebo with a smile on his face. Maki watched the lights flicker by as she counted down the minutes, they had left till they made it to the stupid circus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am about as dead as the mystery person in the next chapter. But I do feel really tired so this was a bit more lighthearted. I might end up adding a couple more chapters incase I can't achieve what I want to be done next chapter. But in the end Rantaro is no longer just dead in an alleyway... It is late help


	10. Total fricken despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final act is finally here as the other half of the group arrives. Yet they might be to late for a couple of their friends may already be trapped in the spiders web

Shuichi took a deep breath, he managed to free the hand still tied up to the restraints but he still had a knife in his other. He grabbed onto the handle and winced, yet before he could pull it out he heard the speakers turn on. Crackling in the speakers ran throughout the room as a feminine voice come on. "My my, it seems there is a little traitor in these halls" heavy breathing could be heard the the intercom then CRACK a small whimper came afterwords. Shuichi felt sick, he didn't want to think about what made those noises now. He reached back over to the knife as the voice rang out again "what a pity, the traitor has been betrayed. If only she...oh dear calm yourself. We shouldn't get to caught up" another laugh came through. The crackling of the speakers slowly went quiet and Shuichi knew this was bad.

He reached back over to the knife and yanked it out. It hurt but he couldn't do anything about it now. He pulled out a scarf that was tucked into the drawer. It looked a lot like Kokichi's but he didn't have time to think about who's it was. He wrapped it as tightly around his hand as possible, he'd definitely have to go to the hospital after this. There was a giant hole in his hand now. Taking a deep breath Shuichi pocketed the knife and grabbed his phone. Slowly opening the door he looked around to make sure he was alone only to see he was in some storage room.

Looking around Shuichi slowly started making it twords the door before bolting it to get there in time. Once he was out of the building he found a maze of mirrors below him. Like the path Kokichi took earlier. Looking through the maze he shakily pulled out his note book and leaned it onto the railing so he could write. It was difficult to write with his left hand but eventually he managed to make a small map to the area where he believed Kokichi was. He only had to make it there first.

Kaito stepped into the attic to look for his sidekick. He knew Maki would probably be here soon so he wanted to make sure Shuichi was at least alive. When he heard the intercom come on to display a voice he felt sounded familiar but he didn't know didn't know from where. Yet when the cracking noise played through the room he knew he had to hurry. Gripping one of the boards in the wall he was about to pull one away when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around to punch whoever was there he was greated by Korekiyo. "what the hell do you want?" Kaito slowly lowered his fist as the other male started laughing. "you shouldn't be so hash to someone who wishes to help you." Kaito crossed his arms "and how do you wish to help?" 

Kaito was hesitant but nodded for Korekiyo to continue. Korekiyo paused before laughing again "I'm afraid you'll punch me if I don't get straight to the point so, Saihara is not here. Instead he's in the basement" Kaito's eyes narrowed as Korekiyo gave that information so willingly "what's the catch?" Korekiyo shrugged and he turned around "there is none, my sister only wanted to help you out. Now I suggest you stay quiet and follow me, I'll lead you as far as I can go but do be careful....a wretched beast lurks in the lair beneath this establishment." He let out another laugh as he started walking. Leaving Kaito no other choice than to follow.

The group in the car finally made it to the circus. Tenko shuttered as she hopped out of the car "it's way to creepy at night." Maki rolled her eyes and got out quietly so Rantaro could also get out. Rantaro looked around for a bit before smiling to the group. Miu crossed her arms mumbling "this place looks so lame-" only for Keebo to shake his head "now is not the time, our friends are currently in danger" Rantaro let out a nervous laugh and he spoke up "come on, I'll show you how to get in." 

His smile stayed on his face as he lead the group twords the trashcan. Miu was about to make a dirty joke before Rantaro pushed one aside to show a broken door. "Told you guys I was surprisingly good at breaking down doors." He slipped inside, motioning for the others to follow as they climbed up a latter to the attic. Rantaro looked around before slipping fully into the building. Kaede was still there which pulled his heart a bit. He really did love her and hated how it ended like this. Finding her body practically gutted in a musty basement. The moment the others saw the body it hit them that this was real. Maki examined the bodie before turning to Rantaro "you where here last so where is Kaito?" Her tone struck fear into each member as Rantaro shook his head "I last saw him with Korekiyo so they might be in the basement. I don't think we need to worry about Kaito though, if he's with Korekiyo he'd be safe." Maki raised an eyebrow, she hadn't even heard of this guy before. Rantaro let out a nervous laugh as he opened the door "he's not a girl so he's completely fine. Don't worry about a thing." 

Dispite Rantaro laid back attitude something held Tenko in place. She had no clue why but she couldn't move her feet. Keebo looked over to her with concern "Tenko it seems your heart rate has increased drastically, is something wrong?" She clenched her skirt as she took a step forward "no, not yet at least" 

The rapid tapping of a keyboard along with the clank of a can could be heard. Putting her head in her hand the girl mused "ah what strong love, it's almost cliche how much these people have." Stretching out a bit the girl spun in her chair and grabbed her boots. "too bad I let the only one who knows who I am get loose." Her voice changed again this time to a male voice "we need to teach him a lesson on how he's the stepping stone to hope!" Before quickly changing back into an energetic girls voice. "So we can crush his dreams and fill him with so much frickin despair." The girl finished packing her duffle bag as her real voice came through "Ah to bad he ran away, I've always enjoyed these types of stories." With that she picked up a baseball bat "To bad yaoi is much more popular or else this story could have become one where he falls in love with his captor" flipping the baseball bat in her hands she stepped out of the announcement room. Twirling a finger through her pink twin tails "How about we smash his kneecaps and blame it on his love!" A cackle erupted from the girl as she squished an old promotional stuffed rabbit under her boot "Soon this circus will be riddled with beautiful dispare!" Her boot ground into the stuffed rabbit before a male voice came through "how boring"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors I wrote this chapter on my phone but the mastermind has finally been revealed. But oh why are they doing this? Find out next episode on dragon ball z


	11. Awww shoot bitches be crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explanation explanation explanation, oh dear time is running out what ever will they do?

Shuichi started traversing the maze, with the paper in hand he felt confident enough to get to the end. The only problem was getting to Kokichi when he was there. He fell down a giant hole after all. Each step he felt he was getting closer before monitors turned on throughout the room.

A picture of a girl with pink pigtails flashed through the whole maze as the speakers turned on. "It seems my sweetheart had left his cage so sad." She did a fake crying before the screen turned to show a bunch of his friends all in different situations. "Though don't worry my sweet, I want to see the absolute despair on your face when you see what is to come!" Their voice changed to one he knew all to well "After all, we have some unfinished business Shuichi Saihara"

January 14th

The cases that have been in the detective agency have been slowing down. Shuichi didn't mind, he personally liked the quiet. Yet everything changed when his uncle called him to his office. Putting down his homework Shuichi entered the office only to see a girl with blue hair and glasses sitting in a chair. His uncle gave a smile before motioning for Shuichi to join them. After sitting down his uncle started up "I know it's been quiet but I'm worried about your schooling. Not every boy needs this much work on his hands" Shuichi was about to object but his uncle simply held his hand up "that's why you now have a partner of your own. Her name is Tsumugi Shirogane, she's a sweet girl so do take her under your wing." Tsumugi offered her hand with a smile "It's nice to meet you Shuichi!" Shuichi gave a small smile back as he shook her hand "likewise"

After the first couple of days Tsumugi and Shuichi found out they had a lot in common. Now even hanging out together at school. Kaede and Kaito where happy Shuichi got a friend all by himself but Kaito was too busy on training to really get to know her. This left the freind group to Kaede, Shuichi, Tsumugi, and maki. Who all surprisingly got along well.

One thing lead to another and

May 6th

"Oh! Shuichi you actually came!" Tsumugi clasped her hands happily as Shuichi joined her next to the rose bushes. "O-of course you're my freind after all." A hint of sadness shown in Tsumugi's face as she played with a strand of her hair. "W-well I was wondering if.....well" Shuichi was worried he did something wrong before "Will you please be my boyfriend!" 

Extreamly taken back Shuichi stayed quiet for a while. The only person he's ever felt interest in was the leader of a small gang he's been assigned to read more about. Taking in a deep breath he gave a smile, he wouldn't have chances with them anyways. It would prevent his work from going well. "yeah, I'd be happy to Tsumugi"

May 14th

They went on their first real date and it was exciting. Tsumugi talked on and on about how she found this one character in a tv show amazing. Of course Shuichi listened over dinner. They went and saw a movie but it wasn't anything to interesting, just some murder mystery but he didn't care much for it.

Instead he looked at the cute girl passionately talking to him on the other side of the table. He tried his best to pay complete attention but something was off. He was going to call Kaede later.

June 12th

"Kaede I need your help!" His voice was frantic as he said that. Kaede sounded hesitent as she asked "are you okay?" Shuichi covered his mouth as he sunk down to the floor "I think I fell in love-" before he could continue Kaede jumped in "Wait with Tsumugi!?! I mean you have been dating-" Shuichi let out a sob "N-No.....that's the problem."

June 27th

They properly broke up today. It was odd, he expected Tsumugi to be mad but she was just distant. They didn't even date for long but she seemed serious. It wasn't even like he was dating the other so why did he break it off, why was he that stupid! Tsumugi opened her mouth before quickly closing it again. She gave a small smile with an "oh I should have known." Before walking off. Shuichi tried to call her back to explain but nothing worked. He was stuck...

At least he wouldn't feel bad about letting the curious phantom thief into his life......only for him to vanish without a trace.

\- - -

Tenko kicked down the door only to see the worst case scenario. Himiko...HER Himiko laid peacefully dead on the floor. She wanted to be the thankful they respectfully placed her there but her blood couldn't help but boil. Clenching her fists she punched a hole in the banister. "WHATEVER FUCKING DEGENERATE MALE DID THIS IS GOING TO WISH HE WAS NEVER BORN!" everyone but Rantaro and Maki stood in shock. Maki took a deep breath and walked over to the CRACK! Something started to fall from the sky causing the tent to almost catch on fire. Maki couldn't get out in time expecting to get burned only to feel something heavy slam into her. Opening her eyes she saw Kaito looking at her with a goofy grin. "I knew you'd come to get us!" Maki simply pushed him off and sighed "You always get in these sorts of messes."

There was a weezing sound as Tenko looked over at Korekiyo who stood next to whatever was on fire. She stormed up to him yelling "it was you who killed Himiko wasn't it!" He continued laughing before pulling down his mask to show a very feminine face. The voice that rang over the speakers came out "calm yourself Korekiyo, you need to explain yourself before you cause more trouble." His mask was pulled back up as he cleared his throat "Excuse me, but I was the one who murdered her killer" he pushed what was hanging from the ceiling. There hung Angie, her head bleeding, but it was clear the cause of death was from the hanging.

Looking back down at his hand he mused "it was a simple miscalculation, I didn't expect Maki here to fall into such an obvious trap neither Tenko. It was set up for the other in this establishment." His laughing continued before he crossed his arms "I do not like killing such horrendous traitors such as her but I made an exception due to our circumstances....." His voice lowered a bit "now I suggest you get a move on, I'm not here to help you I was only assisting Kaito." He struck a match and threw it to now properly catch the tent on fire. "your time is ticking, tick tock tick tock." Everytime Tenko talked to him he was even weirder. Keebo gripped onto Miu's hand who still seemed in shock. "I know we should analyze this more but we have to get a move on. Kokichi and shuichi are still stuck somewhere here."

Rantaro gave a calm smile as he side stepped a flaming bored falling from the ceiling. "I agree with Keebo, I already called for backup but they might take a bit to arrive." He looked between the group "Miu I want you and Keebo to stay safe in case something happens. We need witnesses, Tenko you and me will check the basement. Maki and Kaito, get the bodies outside we don't want our friends resting in a place like this......and please get Kaede for me-" Kaito gave a nod and went to go get Kaede as Maki handled Himiko and Angie.

With that Tenko and Rantaro started on their way down to the basement. He was a bit supprised on how willing Tenko was to join his side but she had murder in her her eyes. She didn't like Angie but didn't trust Korekiyo. Oh how little did she know.

"To bad the two would be to late" a tall girl with blue hair stood above Kokichi. "I find it funny, how far they're going for you. After all" she seemed to change within an instant putting her fingers under Kokichi's chin. Now as a guy with a green jacket and white hair "It fills me with so much hope! The fact he is going to die just to attempt to save you!" Going back to her normal self she leaned in closer to Kokichi as she whispered "he's running off of adrenaline but his hand is still bleeding pretty bad." Kokichi blocked all of this out, instead he enacted his plan. He called it plan Rantaro get your ass over here as I take care of my soon to be boyfriend's psycho ex. It's name was a work in progress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am dead. I'm so tired but didn't want to lie it's currently 11:00pm. I have finals and shit to do but I wanted to get this out, once again sorry for any errors I wrote this on my phone with 3 hours of sleep.


	12. Shotput ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tent is still burning but the final showdown is about to commence!

Kokichi stayed on the ground prompting Tsumugi to continue monologuing. “It was because of you we never got our happily ever after! We were perfect for each other!” She started crying but Kokichi couldn’t care less. He reached over to her boots and started to undo the laces. She was too busy to notice Kokichi tie her shoes together before he rolled over and started cackling. “You really think that I KOKICHI OUMA!” He stumbled up to face Tsumugi even if the height difference was comical. “The ultimate supreme leader, would fall for someone as stupid as Shumai? Seriously Tsumugi I know you have this whole tragic backstory but.” He avoiding wincing, yikes she kicked him hard in the stomach earlier. That was surely gonna leave a mark. His smile grew wider “You played right into my hands you stupid stupid girl!”

Tsumugi now just looked lost “What are you talking about, I killed your friends and your love interest is bleeding out. What a normie, you don’t even understand the final act.” Kokichi walked up to Tsumugi pulling her down to his level “My poor TsuTsu I’d expect a cosplayer like yourself, especially one that is such a big fan of Danganronpa to have played more Yaoi visual novels!” He started fake crying “That means either Shuichi is going to die or we’re going to live h-happily ever after.” He let go of Tsumugi and turned around to allow her to pick up her bat. Once she took a step to swing at the supposedly unsuspecting Tsumugi she tripped and fell right onto her face. Causing Kokichi to jump pack and snatch the bat from her hand.

“My! You even got a metal one! Don’t ya think that’s cool!” Kokichi flipped the bat a few times as Tsumugi clenched her fist. “H-how…how DARE you do that to me!” She quickly slipped off her boots as Kokichi continued to back up. He wasn’t in good enough shape to climb up the latter. Even if it was only a blow to the abdomen that still took a lot out of him, including a possible broken rib. “You know Tsumugi, what if we joined forces and murdered Shuichi together! Don’t you think that would be totally awesome! I mean we have worked together before! Ms. I missed the shotput ball.”

Kicking one of the mirrors Tenko let out a scream of anger as the mirror shattered. “We’ve been stuck in this maze for a way too long I thought you knew where you were going!” Rantaro let out a sigh and looked at the notes left by the girl he had scouted out earlier. It was just a bunch of squiggles and a “YOU GOT THIS” sticker. “Sorry Tenko, it seems I have lost my way” Rantaro let out a quiet chuckle, but this bothered him too. He was fantastic at mazes and in general, had a good sense of direction. That was how he and Kaede found their way back to the main entrance when they got lost on their first date, He shook his head, no time to think about her now.

Rantaro was about to take another right turn before he heard a crash coming from the left. Quickly running to see what made that noise Tenko let out a screech “Shuichi oh my god!” The detective laid on the floor as a large shotput ball rolled next to Rataro's feet…they tripped a wire. A wire of all things! Quickly running over to Shuichi Rantaro lifted the mirror off of the boy, helping him with the few pieces of glass. “Jeeze…that was a close one-“Shuichi mumbled as he attempted to get up with Rantaro’s help. He let out a yelp as he put weight on his left leg immediately falling over. Tenko was cleaning up the immediate dangers around the room. As Rantaro propped Shuichi against the other wall. “How did you stab your hand?” Shuichi let out a laugh “I’ll tell you when we find Kokichi, I’m fine but we have to go” Rantaro pushed Shuichi back down to the ground and pulled out a pocket knife cutting away at the fabric above the knee. Rantaro winces as he saw how injured the other's leg was, it clearly took the brunt of the shotput ball….but who set up such a trap?

Rantaro stepped back and Tenko walked up to Shuichi with a surprisingly sweet voice “I know you’re a degenerate male but I’ll help you this once.” She picked him up as Rantaro looked around. “We need to get you out of here but we’re already lost, to begin with.” Shuichi shook his head and with a bit of struggle unfurled his hand to show a pretty blood coated map “We are getting Kokichi first”

Rantaro paused and shook his head “No we have backup Tenko and I are going to-“ Shuichi let out a sigh and got out of Tenko’s hold as he stated “Then I’m getting him myself” In a bitter tone. He clearly didn’t feel how bad his leg hurt for now but instead leaned on the wall as he started walking. Tenko looked completely shocked as she whispered to Rantaro “You think he hit his head? He has never acted this way before.” Instead of answering Rantaro just walked behind Shuichi “Fine we’ll get Kokichi if you’ll allow Tenko to carry you.” Shuichi paused before giving a small nod. Tenko promptly picked him up as they started traversing the maze. Getting a lot further thanks to Shuichi’s map.

Finally getting outside Miu, Maki, Kaito, and Keebo all put the bodies down and waited for the police to arrive. Keebo looked down the road before stating “Do any of you think we should have stopped the weird bondage guy?” Miu let out a gasp as she clung onto Keebo’s arm “I’m not a guy but we can talk about our bond-“ Keebo put a hand over Miu’s mouth before continuing “If my memory is right his name was Korekyio.” Maki shook her head “No use, he is long gone by now. He perfected his craft so there isn’t even evidence” she pointed to Angie who was left tied up in extravagant ropes and burned. Kaito covered his mouth “never thought I’d get this close to a body, let alone see three people die brutally in one day-“ Maki put a hand on his shoulder as her voice went slightly softer “Hey, it’s okay…I um…I’m sorry about Kaede-“ Kaito quickly cut her off “She was your friend too!” Maki stayed quiet as she looked down. “…It was obviously slow and…she didn’t deserve this.” Kaito pulled Maki into a hug “sorry, I shouldn’t have accused you of_” Maki shook her head “No, I already know who did this that is why I am pissed off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tune in tomorrow for the final chapter! I am so excited this fic has been very fun to write even if I kinda hate it^^;


	13. The end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! It's a long one

Tsumugi gripped the bat tightly in her hand, yanking it out of Kokichi's grasp. This little brat had the audacity to say she missed! She couldn't help but laugh "I missed? You have to be kidding me! How could I have possibly missed; he was right where the target was placed." She clenched her hand tighter and raised the bat up, crashing it onto his kneecaps. His legs wobbled but weren't broken.... yet.

Tsumugi was completely crazed at this point swinging the bat once again to hit Kokichi. "Three strikes and you’re out!" He rolled away and tried to get back onto his feet, his knees betraying him. Tsumugi swung once again only to stop once a bright light shown through the small room.

Tsumugi jumped back when the source of the light became clear. She wasn't hurt but her dress combusted. A flaming board fell from the ceiling. Apparently, the damn circus was on fire, fantastic. Taking this, Kokichi took his chance as he gripped onto the ladder and climbed away. Luckily for him, his expertise of escaping tight situations gave him enough upper arm strength to climb without his feet.

Rolling to safety, he was about to crawl back up to evade Tsumugi but he stopped once he rolled onto a pair of sneakers. There stood Rantaro who quickly pulled him up into a hug. "Kokichi! It seems we have a small problem on our hands." Shuichi gave a tired smile when Tenko slid into the room with him. Kokichi shook his head "I'm fine, we need to go!" He spoke in a tone that only Rantaro has heard before. Nodding his head Rantaro handed Kokichi, Shuichi's bloodied map. "let's go boss."

With help from Rantaro, the four of them made it to the main room of the circus. It didn't even resemble how it looked earlier this night. With the flames high, the four looked for the best exit. Kokichi regained the ability to walk after a bit and helped Shuichi find a makeshift crutch with the help of Rantaro.

Frantically searching the exits seemed to all be closed off. Fearing for the worst, Rantaro attempted to peel off one of the flaming boards but only managed to burn his hands. Tenko backed up again as another flaming pile of debris fell from the ceiling. "Ugh it's getting hard to breathe-"

Starting to accept their fate, they walked around once more only for. "Guys wait check this out!" Rantaro picked up a pole used for one of the magic tricks, it was hot, but he could still handle it. Peeling away one of the loose boards they managed to make a way to the outside.

Only for the joy to be short lived. Pushing Tenko out of danger it left Kokichi, Shuichi, and Rantaro face to face with the mastermind. Tsumugi Shirogane. Tsumugi let out a giggle as she tilted her head a bit "wow, I never expected you to actually survive Shuichi. Maybe now is the time to reconsider my proposition" Shuichi shook his head "N-No, no way.... This is bullshit!" He screamed causing Tsumugi to only giggle once again.

"You know I only joined the agency for good murder references for my cosplays. I never realized how dull and perfect your job was for a plain person like me." Shuichi looked genuinely hurt as Rantaro and Kokichi looked at each other to try and figure out the best way to get out. Shuichi shook his head and spoke once again "No this isn't right, we talked about that you're not plain. You're not boring, you're not even a murderer so why!" Tears started coming to his eyes, he couldn't tell if it was from the smoke or the situation. "I saw you as my friend, I still do. So why?"

Tsumugi crossed her arms as she walked up to the three, Rantaro getting ready to punch her as hard as possible if she made a wrong move. "Oh sweetheart...." She cupped Shuichi's face, and wiped away a tear. Shuichi looked away, stumbling a bit "I wasn't the one who hurt you this badly, it was the criminal who did it!" She pointed at Kokichi who simply looked down at the ground.

She leaned in for a kiss only for Shuichi to push her away with his free hand. "No, I want Kokichi to explain" Tsumugi let out a huff with a "fine but time is running out" she pointed to the literal fire around them before turning to Kokichi. "so, will you tell the truth to your dearest detective for once in your miserable life?"

Kokichi looked pissed, like he was about to stab Tsumugi then and there. Instead of stabbing her a bright smile came across his face "Fine, if you're going to ruin my game I'm going to make it boring for everyone" he looked down at his hand and flatly said "I set up the traps, I contributed to Kaede's murder, and I even broke my beloveds leg." "Kokichi?" The detective reached out to the other but Kokichi simply smacked his hand away. "Don't touch me! You should be furious, disgusted! I aided the one who was killing us all!"

Shuichi slowly made his way to Kokichi and promptly slapped him. "get a hold of yourself and simply explain! We don't have much time damnit!" once again the detective seemed to be on the verge of snapping. His hand twitched for a bit before lowering. A couple tears came to Kokichi's eyes as he held onto his face. "I-i....I knew about Kaede's death before you two did." He finally pulled out a letter from his pocket. Clearing his throat he read it out loud "I believe you're well acquainted with my love. I'll assure you; you'll stay unharmed if you do one single thing. A girl lies upstairs, she's still alive I'm currently taking care of her now of course, I want you to help. I'll spare your little group from my wrath if you simply leave your doors open. I have another message for you in the room with the girl. Follow the instructions and your beloved Shuichi will stay in one piece. Yours’s truly"

Shuichi stayed silent; he couldn't even say anything if he tried. Kokichi simply continued "When you went to check on Kaede, I already knew what the thud would be. I walked into the room to comfort you but that's where I saw the next set of instructions left in the doorframe. Tsumugi knew you'd be too distraught to notice so I snatched it before going over to you." He pulled out one more note "I knew she meant a lot to you and Rantaro so.....I lied about why I was so easily able to get the equipment you asked. Tsumugi gave it to me in return for putting a shotput ball under the floorboard earlier."

A boy with long black hair shook his head and covered Kokichi's mouth "Seems the liar can tell the truth, how boring-" with a spin they went back to being Tsumugi. "It wasn't meant to murder you Shuichi! Well later it was, but that was only because you defied me!" She pointed to herself "It was meant to take care of Kokichi! Not you!" Kokichi let out a cackle "and that Tsumugi is why you played into my hands! I played along just as I promised, but you should know by now I don't like being forced into games."

Tsumugi simply gave a shrug as Rantaro let out a quiet "oh no" and grabbed Shuichi preparing to run. Kokich's smile became creepier by the second, Shuichi didn't even know a smile could grow that large. "I'll give it to you; I didn't plan for Shuichi to get caught but I knew you wanted me dead. So, I rigged it! I rigged the ball in order for it to be off target" he continued cackling before continuing "Now Tsutsu, remember that slip up you had with your dear friend Angie?" He rolled his eyes before jabbing his finger into Tsumugi's chest "You lost because of her, because she brought me down to a place I didn't know of! I knew exactly where the ball would land so I avoided it! I even called out to you...what was it again? Oh, right I called "oh scary monster!" Just so you knew I was onto you!"

Tsumugi's fist twitched as her smile dropped into a scowl "You little shit..." Kokichi smiled brighter "you know what else I did TsuTsu!" He started walking forward causing Tsumugi to step backwards. Right into his trap, granted he wasn't omnipotent. Maybe he just got lucky, he was the type to get hit by something uncontrollable and claim it was planned. Finally bursting through the door, a group of people wearing clown masks aided by the firefighters ran into the circus.

Tsumugi looked down at what she was stepping on, only to realize it was only a Trap door to a small cage. She glared at Kokichi and shook her head "No I won't go down like this!" One of the fire fighters called out "Lady please step down!"

Dice had already dispersed in order to pick up everything they could before the tent collapsed. Tsumugi was corned but before she could allow anything else to happen, she lunged at Kokichi causing them to almost fall into the cage. Pulling out a pair of sewing sissors she stabbed down hoping to take Kokichi out with her. Kokichi never knew pain until now, his eye felt like it was on fire and the scissors dug in. He was either going to vomit or faint as the metal twisted to get deeper. Letting out a blood curdling scream-

Shuichi felt a sharp pain flow through his body then white

.

.

.

.

Tenko and Rantaro made it to the rest of the group who were currently being interviewed by police about the incident. Once Kaito saw them his smile came back before quickly dropping, two out of the four came back. Running over he gripped onto Rantaro's shoulders "Where is Shuichi!" Rantaro tried to answer but there was no need. An ambulance pulled up, as a group of doctors and a couple members of Dice ran through with a stretcher of the detective in critical condition, as the other stretcher held a blue haired girl who Maki wanted to spit at. The last had a tiny purple haired boy who was holding onto his face as blood poured down. Now screaming "If you let him fucking die I'll have you all killed! You hear me! I'm the greatest fear you'll ever face!" Kaito held his breath as Shuichi passed by. He looked in rough shape, his leg was mangled, his hand burned and bleeding, and something happened to the upper half of his body because it was covered by a sheet.

\- -

Keebo, miu, and maki recovered pretty well. Keebo and Miu went back to their normal lives still pained with the loss of some friends. Although Maki didn't admit it out loud, she missed Kaede and with Shuichi in the hospital Kaito has been a mess. With the loss of her girlfriend Tenko took a bit to get back on track. This was recorded as a horrific tragedy as an unexplained fire caught onto the circus killing four. Rantaro scoffed as he turned off the television "if I ever see that bondage freak again, I'm going to make him pay for ruining my hands." Rantaro was sad about the loss of Kaede, he really did love her but accepted that he'd need to remember the good times they had instead of lingering onto the fact she was gone.

A girl with brown twin tails hopped onto the couch next to Rantaro "But big brother, now you could be super good at stealing stuff!" Rantaro let out a laugh and ruffled the girl’s hair "It's not that bad, they just look nasty. I'm just glad the rest of Dice showed up when we needed it most." The girl gave a bright smile before sitting crisscross "have you visited the boss recently? He's been pretty down in the hospital lately. " Rantaro shook his head "Nah, not yet-" the girl leaned in a bit "but why, you two are so close! You'd cheer him up!" Rantaro gave a soft smile and shook his head "I'll go by soon; I'm waiting for another person to wake up first."

\- - -

It was two in the morning when Kaito dragged Maki out of bed to tell her Shuichi woke up. Kaito had been beating himself up over the fact that Shuichi got in such bad condition over a trip he dragged him on.

The moment visiting hours where open Kaito burst through the door teary eyed to see his sidekick. Shuichi gave a weak smile and a small wave with his good hand; his voice was horse but excited "h-hey Kaito! Hey maki! long time no see" Kaito broke out into tears "I was so worried you were going to never wake up!"

Maki let out a sigh and walked over to Shuichi's bed. "hey, I made you cake, eat it if you want" she carefully placed it next to him on the bed. Shuichi felt tears come to his eyes as he wiped them away "I-I don’t deserve such good friends.” Kaito reached over to ruffle his hair quickly remembering that wasn't a good idea he hugged onto Shuichi.

"hey what you did back there was pretty awesome okay? I think you graduated from being my sidekick." Kaito reached into his bag and pulled out a somewhat burnt hat and card. "the weird clown people found this in the rubble and wrote yah something." Shuichi's eyes widened as he traced over the card, quietly asking for Kaito to open it for him. Reading it over a soft smile came to his face "how are they doing anyways?" Kaito looked a bit confused "never knew you hung out with such a weird group" Maki gave him a punch on the shoulder and continued for him.

"Turns out they worked with the police in order to get everything under control. Rantaro wanted to let you know that even with Kokichi in the hospital they have been running well with him in charge." Shuichi let out a laugh "That explains so much."

The three chatted over some cake before Kaito and Maki where escorted out of the room.

It was quiet without them, Shuichi found himself looking outside the window, next time they came he'd ask for them to bring him a stack of books. He was about to doze off as a nurse popped in "Excuse me? Someone is here to see you." Sitting up in bed Shuichi let a small smile slip through "o-oh okay, you can let them in."

Stepping into the room was the one and only ultimate supreme leader who was.... genuinely crying. He was healed up enough to be allowed more comfortable clothes than the medical robe, but it was the first time Shuichi saw him so casual.

Shuichi gave a soft smile as Kokichi ran up and hugged Shuichi. "I'm so sorry shumai, you probably hate me so much!" Reaching up with his good hand he wiped the tears from Kokichi's face and gave him a gentle kiss. "This mess started because I fell for you. After all of this I'm not going to hate you."

Kokichi let out a sniffle as he rubbed his eye. "right, I never cry because of something like this. I was just joking to get a reaction." He pulled up a chair and sat down next to Shuichi. Shuichi's brow furrowed as he reached over to Kokichi's face again, his hand traveling over an eyepatch.

Kokichi let out a laugh as he took Shuichi's hand "pretty cool right, now I truly look like an evil leader." Shuichi let out a quiet chuckle as he mumbled "I'm sorry-" Kokichi held tighter onto Shuichi's hand before looking around to make sure nobody else was listening.

"No... thank you, you saved my life. Multiple times." Shuichi looked lost again promoting Kokichi to continue "ah I forgot.... Head injury" his hand never let go of Shuichi's as he explained. "So, you know your psycho ex was stabbing my eye out to get to my brain, but you stupidly ran to stop her."

His voice started cracking but he put on a smile "Nobody knew you had a knife with you, turns out it was the knife stuck in your hand earlier. Pretty awesome right? Anyways you stupidly ran on a broken leg still bleeding out and you kinda stabbed Tsumugi." Shuichi looked surprised more than anything. “I what!”

"You didn't kill her, she died due to all her other injuries...."Kokichi said that hesitantly due to their history. "B-But the look of betrayal she gave you when you stabbed her in the arm was wild. I didn't think you had it in you"

Shuichi looked down in shame "I see....I'm sorry Kokichi I should have-" Kokichi shook his head and gave Shuichi a kiss "Shh- don't tell anyone this but....you slapping me back there knocked some common sense into me." Looking around once again his voice was serious “When the pillar collapsed on you, I though you where gone for good so-“ He put a finger to his lips and let out a giggle "So keep up your smile my dearest detective! When we get out of this place, we'll go on so many dates."

Kokichi hopped onto Shuichi's bed only to slide off when a nurse gave him a dirty look. "plus, you wanna know something else cool! You can have a cool robotic hand! We can both look like evil villains now" Shuichi rolled his eyes but gave Kokichi a smile "I suppose that's the best way to think of losing a hand....but Kokichi- I think you might need to calm down for a bit. I can't even walk yet; my leg was shattered, and I made it worse-" Kokichi shook his head and sat down on the nightstand next to shuichi’s bed. Gently putting the cake that was originally there on his lap.

"that just gives us more possibilities! We get to look out on life with new positivity!" Shuichi broke out into laughter "Jeeze you sound like Kaito. I can tell your lying. You're just as scared as I am....it's okay Kokichi, you can open up around me.... I mean that night was bad but at least we got cotton candy"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! I know I am not good at drawing but I wanted to add one to celebrate the ending. I hope it was satisfactory and I had so much fun writing this fic, thank you so much to everyone who helped and kept me going. Please tell me if you liked the ending because I'm kinda happy with it. I actually have another Saiouma fic I started one so please check it out if you want^^


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